Despite Google's acquisition of Motorola, the company is not rolling out Jelly Bean to Motorola devices unveiled this week. Neither Google nor Motorola offered any explanation of why Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is not on the new devices. Hardware is seemingly not limiting the update. The phones have 4.7-inch screens, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, LTC connectivity, and strong battery life.

Recent data revealed that 4.1 Jelly Bean is in third place on the Android operating system popularity chart. Second is 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, behind 2.3 Gingerbread. Consumers may argue that the differences between Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean are negligible; the latter's major feature is Google Now. However, it would be difficult to argue that the differences between Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich are equally small.

It is unclear why manufacturers are unwilling to update devices to later version of Android. Aside from devices lacking the hardware requirements, the issues may be carriers. UK carrier O2 recently blocked the 4.1 Jelly Bean update for Sony's Xperia Arc, Ray, and Neo devices. The carrier cited performance issues, despite Sony's approval of the update. Instead the device will use Android 2.3 Gingerbread, still the most popular version of Android with over 60 percent of the market.

Samsung's confirmation of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean arriving on the Samsung Galaxy S3 next month is a quick turnaround for the company, which previously took protracted amounts of time to update its devices. The update will also arrive on the Samsung Galaxy S2. Images were posted online of a test Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus ready to download the Jelly Bean update, though the carrier offered no word on when the update can be expected.

Apple delivers updates directly to its devices, ensuring that older devices which it continues to sell on the Apple Store will be updated. The iPhone 3GS continues to be supported with iOS 5, though features are limited.